The Chief Bailiff of a Delta State High Court sitting in Isiokolo, Mr. Peter Onouvughe, has narrated to the court, how he narrowly escaped being shot to death by a Mobile policeman attached to the Vice Chancellor of Delta State University(DELSU) Abraka when he (bailiff) was there to serve the VC a notice of consequence of disobedience of order of court, Form 48.
Onouvughe, in a report to the Chief Assistant Registrar of the court, entitled ‘Bailiff report as to assault and threat to life with gun on me by police officer attached to VC’s office, Delta State University, Abraka,’ said: “When I went to serve the notice of consequence of disobedience of order of the court, the police officer attached to the Vice Chancellor, who is the orderly, after I explained myself to him that I am a judicial staff of the state High Court, Isiokolo, that he should allow me to see the VC, he replied, and I quote: ‘Who is court and who knows court?’
“He started pushing me from the VC’s office and rough handling me, saying that if I failed to move out of the office, he was going to shootme and he now corked his gun with a finger on the trigger and pushed me out. The staff attached to the VC’s office came and held the police officer’s gun. It was then I threw the processes at the entrance to the VC office.”
It will be recalled that a Professor in the university, Professor Victor Jike, had dragged the university and the VC, Professor Eric Arubayi, before the state High Court for removing him as a member of the university’s Investment Limited Board, which is in charge of InternallyGenerated Revenue, since his tenure had not elapsed.
And following the suit, trial judge, Justice A. Omamogho, granted an order on November 26, 2012, restraining the defendants “from appointing or constituting any body or committee by whatsoever name called, to conduct any election in the Senate for the representation of the Senate in the Governing Council of DELSU, pending the determination of the motion on notice already field.
The plaintiff, Prof. Jike, claiming that the order was not complied with, later filed a motion for an order for committal to prison of the VC.
